Naxos, Greece

Naxos was our love/hate affair with Greece island hopping mainly for the reason of Ana's father contacting some sort of lung infection that put him in the hospital for three days. Ximena also fell victim to the same virus, but escaped with a round of antibiotics. Speaking of escaping, Ana's dad was ready to escape from the hospital. We all got a firsthand taste of how Government hospitals operate in Greece. They weren't bad, but then again we have been living in Egypt and Ethiopia over the last seven years. Blood tests, X-rays, checking in and out were mostly smooth and efficient. A tourist settling a bill has been a more complicated story.

The quality time we did have on Naxos was spent in a car winding up and down narrow lanes along the edge of cliffs with stunning views of valleys and waves crashing against rocks. As the driver, I didn't take my eyes off the road too many times. In the end, we left some unexplored terrain. At some point we will remedy our lost time and return to the beauty of Naxos to learn more about Bacchus and Ariadne.   

A small cup of local fresh wine helps with the nerves after driving around Naxos. Speaking of wine, I had several glasses of retsina during our trip. Retsina wine is of the white variety with a pine taste. While in Ethiopia, our friends Andreas and Lorna introduced us to it. I don't know many folks who like the flavor.

Lunch.

Naxos still life: goat cheese, fresh wine, aged wine, pizza, and olives is the perfect hotel room dinner. So, about the pizza. Pizzadelia serves up some of the best pies we've had. The owner uses local cheese and toppings on thin crust and bakes it with love. The owner and his brother also make a fresh red wine each season. We couldn't get enough. Another one of our favorite eateries that will leave you with a couple of extra kilos was Maro's Taverna. Tasty home cooking (the drunken pig) with excellent service. It was hard to try anything beyond those two places.      

The winds arrived and made the island shake.

Sweet ride.

The central part of Chora still consists of older building and a castle.

Sign painting is still practiced on the island. To gain entrance into the restaurant, one must duck under the arch as show by the painting. 

Plan on getting lost.

Knock-knock!
Who's there...

Another restaurant with romantic signage.

Character.

Bring your own brick, a knockoff of Egyptian architecture.

Another hand painted sign spotted next to our hotel. A cornucopia of goodness.

The internet states Olympic Air has ceased operations and was bought out by Aegean Airlines...I beg to differ.

When we were researching Naxos, this very parrot was on someone's blog. Now it is on mine too. Time to start a movement for Rusty the red parrot.

The castle from afar.

The port.

You can't escape Naxos without running into something associated with the Temple of Apollo.

Chora from the Temple of Apollo.

Agii Apostoli is a cruciform, domed Byzantine church of the 10th-11th centuries and of rare architectural style, being the only two-storey church found on Naxos. Source: http://www.naxos.gr/en/

Just driving around.

Looking for bees.

If you look for it, you will find it.

A common sight on the road.

Someone loves the beach.

One of the many views from the road. We were surprised that we didn't roll down the hills.

Sand = Yummy.

Ximena's Greek pediatrician has cool art on her walls.

Athens, Greece: It's All Greek To Me

Our trip to Greece is best summed up by, "Why didn't we do this sooner?" On perhaps bunk advice we've picked up along the way from family and friends, Greece wasn't a even on our radar. During the past couple of year, our friends made it sound like we were missing out. With an infant and her grandparents in tow, the ease and proximity of Athens from Alexandria-a mere 90-minute flight, more than ever, we were sold.

The first stop was Athens, where we camped out at an airbnb apartment in the Thissio neighborhood. Thissio is right under the Acropolis stashed between Gazi (nightlife haven) and Psirri (antiques, cafes, and street art). All was within a short walking distance. It was a shame we didn't venture out of our three kilometer radius.

As Ana said, "We'll go back...if not for the sights, definitely for the food and wine." 

For 12 Euros you can purchase a ticket to gain entrance to all the antiquity hot spots. We bought in at Temple of Olympian Zeus.  

Odeon of Herodes Atticus hosts many events in the late spring/summer.

Old Temple of Athena

Old Temple of Athena

Parthenon

View from the Acropolis.

Detail of Theater of Dionysu.

Another view from the Acropolis.

Parthenon with less cloud cover.

A view of Theater of Dionysu.

A walk around Omonia Square where all the protests start, as one local mentioned to us.

Ximena discovering bees.

Along with street art and tagging, political posters were part of the urban landscape.

The train near our hood.

Junk collector dream.

The Acropolis.

Temple of Olympian Zeus.

Along with feral cats, dogs also occupied the streets.

Sweet ride part 1.

Sweet ride part 2. Sure beats the wood panel design of the plagued station wagons from the 70s.

View of the Acropolis from Ancient Agora.

Temple of Hephaistos.

Stda of Attalos aka one-point perspective example. There were plenty of students roaming around doing cheeky antics like putting caps on statues and sneaking off for a cigarette. Sounds like a place to bring adolescents.

Making way for...

There was no shortage of street art and galleries in Psirri.

A nice installation of a Alice In Wonderland inspired project.

The gallery was covered from floor to ceiling.

Just in case we were missing one of America's finest rice beers.

The dog did it.

Thissio is mostly scenic and lined with outdoor cafes and old churches that are tagged.

More of the same.

A punk clothing shop.

While the Acropolis Museum had a lot to offer, the biggest attraction seemed to be the impressive Lego model of the Acropolis.

Fast forward to the end of the trip after island hopping Naxos and Santorini, we needed some down time. The southern tree-lined suburb of Voula. Voula provided the clam after the storm. 

Most of Voula's inhabitants we can across were either well-to-do socialites making the scene in upscale markets and cafes or retirees looking to soak up the sun.  

A makeshift alter along the sea. I was a bit perplexed by the bottle of cooking oil inside.

Sweet ride part 3. The neighbors car of where we stayed. Perhaps a garage is better suited for such fan antique.